TY - JOUR AB - Herbal acupuncture (HA) is a modern adjunctive technique in which natural herbs or biologic substances are injected into acupuncture points. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate evidence of the effectiveness of HA for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Three databases were searched. The included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluated HA in controls and patients with T2DM and reported at least one of the following: Fasting blood glucose (FBG), postprandial (PP2hr) glucose and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). In a meta‑analysis of seven RCTs (n=598 patients), HA significantly reduced levels of FBG, PP2hr glucose and HbA1c (P<0.0001, P=0.0005 and P=0.004, respectively). There was no significant effect of HA on total cholesterol, high‑density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low‑density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, or triglyceride level. High degrees of heterogeneity were present for all analyses except HDL‑cholesterol and LDL‑cholesterol. HA might have a beneficial effect on FBG, PP2hr glucose and HbA1c levels in patients with T2DM; however, because of several limitations, the results are inconclusive. Therefore, additional rigorous RCTs are warranted to overcome the limitations of previous studies. AD - Department of Clinical Korean Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Dongdaemun‑Gu, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea Department of Science in Korean Medicine, Graduate School, Kyung Hee University, Dongdaemun‑Gu, Seoul 02447, Republic of Korea AU - Lee,Seung‑Wook AU - Nam,Min‑Ho AU - Lee,Byung‑Cheol DA - 2017/06/01 DO - 10.3892/etm.2017.4379 EP - 3256 IS - 6 JO - Exp Ther Med KW - herbal acupuncture pharmacopuncture diabetes fasting blood glucose postprandial glucose glycated hemoglobin PY - 2017 SN - 1792-0981 1792-1015 SP - 3249 ST - Herbal acupuncture for type 2 diabetes: A meta-analysis T2 - Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine TI - Herbal acupuncture for type 2 diabetes: A meta-analysis UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2017.4379 VL - 13 ER -